Thomas Sumner

All Stories by Thomas Sumner

  1. Chemistry

    New tech harvests drinking water from (relatively) dry air using only sunlight

    A prototype device harvests moisture from dry air and separates it into drinkable water using only sunlight.

  2. Climate

    The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing a major coral bleaching event right now

    A second coral bleaching event has struck the Great Barrier Reef in 12 months, new observations reveal, raising concerns about the natural wonder’s future.

  3. Earth

    Whirlwinds of crystals called gravel devils spotted in Andes Mountains

    Large whirlwinds in northern Chile can carry gravel-sized gypsum crystals several kilometers before dumping them in mounds.

  4. Planetary Science

    Competing ideas abound for how Earth got its moon

    The moon may have formed from one giant impact or from about 20 small ones.

  5. Oceans

    Thinning ice creates undersea Arctic greenhouses

    Arctic sea ice thinned by climate change increasingly produces conditions favorable for phytoplankton blooms in the waters below, new research suggests.

  6. Earth

    Deadly New Zealand quake hopscotched across faults

    The Nov. 14, 2016, earthquake in New Zealand was much larger than thought possible at the time, prompting a rethink of hazard assessments.

  7. Climate

    Arctic sea ice hits record wintertime low

    Warm temperatures and heat waves reduced sea ice extent in the Arctic to its smallest maximum extent ever seen.

  8. Earth

    Remnants of Earth’s original crust preserve time before plate tectonics

    Canadian rocks containing bits from 4.2 billion years ago suggest that full-fledged plate tectonics had a late start.

  9. Earth

    Warming soils may belch much more carbon

    New measurements suggest soils below 15 centimeters deep could play a sizable role in boosting carbon emissions as the planet warms.

  10. Earth

    Earth’s mantle may be hotter than thought

    Earth’s mantle is warmer than previously thought, suggests a new experiment that better accounts for water content in rocks.

  11. Planetary Science

    Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon may not conceal an ocean after all

    A lack of cracks on Mimas suggests that the icy moon of Saturn doesn’t conceal a subsurface ocean of liquid water.

  12. Planetary Science

    Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon may not conceal ocean after all

    A lack of cracks on Mimas suggests that the icy moon of Saturn doesn’t conceal a subsurface ocean of liquid water.